Multiple position pot handle



July 24, 1951 M, J, ROSBY 2,561,952

MULTIPLE POSITION POI HANDLE Filed May 13, 1946 fm f2 @IINI m BY ,LM

A from/Erg Patented July 24, 195

Unirse sTA'rEs Arr-ENT oFFlc-E MULTIPLE .POSITIONPOTHANDLE Myron J.yRsby,;rarma, ohio Application May 13, 1946,Ser-ialNo'i 669,306

This invention relates to handles for: cooking utensils,.and isdirectedto theprovision of an--improved handle which may be disposed downward-'.1ly..or .upwardly from its point of attachment to the utensil, andlocked in either position.

Many cooking utensils are provided withgen- "fbe rotated about agenerally horizontal axis, and

:incorporates-a latch or detent to retain it `with .,thehandle directedeither downwardly or upzwardlylso that it may be..fused to handle theutensil', or for pouring, vin either positionas'may be desi-red. Usedupwardly, Vexposure of the handle -=tothevheat source is reduced to aminimum.

,The improved handle may also vloe used cn such utensils as dippers, inwhich case it may be ro- Atated upwardly for dipping, and downwardly:for

convenience in drinking.

An object of the invention is toprovide a handle :which may be usedyeither 'in a downwardly `di- -rected position or in an upwardly directedposi- ...tion. l

Another object of the inventionis to provide a handle whichis'capable ofbeing rotated to sev- ,feral- Apositions and'` may be retained Aineither of gfseveralpositions so that it maybe readily used.

Another object of the invention is to provide a :handle of the characterdescribed which'rnayfbeA :readily mounted on cooking utensils of variousf types.

.YA further object of :the invention vis to. provide .afhandle-whieh isattractive in appearance, simple ein construction, and economical tomanufacture.

Other 'objects and advantagesl more or less uancillary to the foregoingand .the inanner'in 4:which: al1 the various objectsare realized willappear-.in the following description, which,con rsidered `in connectionwithr the accompanying drawings, :setsforth the preferred embodimentV ofthe. invention.

Referring to the drawings Figal is 'an elevation view ofa cookingutensil .providedwith one form of handle assembly ac- .,cording totheinvention;

.r-Fig. 2:Era-vertical section ofthe handle as- -.sembly of'lig.n l

rligx isizan elevation .of the mounting portion:ofatheahandle-iassembly; r

toning. (ome-.110)

.4 is a partial :elevationr of s theha-nidleipor- :i tion. of-.the.assembly;

ingr-siga Verden-Section @famo-dined fornrof handle assembly;y

Figmfi isl a vertical section f. of. still -..:,a-nother 'modiiied formof the handle;

Fig. 7 is a cross section of the forrnof-handle Fig. -8 islian:enlarged, -fragmentary, hvertical .sectional viewoftthe handle andybracket assembly of f Fig. 6, `'showing thedetent'v and springiassemblyindetail.

The .handle assemblyillustratedinf'lig- Z'ifcomprises. af'handle i I,and al mounting 'bracket I2,

' the'rnounting bracket being providedzwithrtransverse holes i3 zthroughwvhich rivets 'orrbolts l 4 fdniay be passed'tohold the-bracketl2 in 'clamped relationrb'etween rthe ends.v ofI/al 'strap' iwen'gage'dl l"between shouldersion utensil'li. The "two parts :oftheghandleassemply are securedstogetherzbyfa r screw seated ina'counter-bored hole? i'8'i:irrthe handler and threadedintoA alhole itin the mounting* bracket;` the fscrew lproviding `anaxislcfgrotationcfor the` handle. .'The screw I 'I ymay be retainedbyfva set/screw 2%". tl'ireaded,tintol .theAAL mounting i. bracket.and'iengaging'tthefscrew Il. '"'Thef'screw i 7 maintains lthel planematingifaceg of :theihandle and mounting bracket 'in opposed relation:under any suitable degree 'of compression.

1n order to retain the handle'infits downwardlywai-diy;directedposition, a latchingfflevice'is provided. The latchingdevice comprises a catch 2| mounted in a vertical slot 22 formed'in the'vface 23 of' thefhandle and urged 'upwardly' against :shoulders 24 fbyacoil spring 25 compressedL between thehottorn. of lthe catch and thebottom of the slot. A thumb'piece 26," extending through the reducedupperportion of the slot provides 40 a means' for 'pressing'thecatch 2intoward the axis ofrotation. The catch 2| `engages in anfannularslot'2'l formed `'in *the vertical face Zilli ofthe .mounting bracket,lslot 2l being formed'with an upwardly? directedv pocket 28a' and apdownwardly directed pocket' 29. -Normally, the catch '2l is.pressedoutwardly from .the aXis'rofrotation-.zby -the spring25, andA isAretained in either fof `the two pocketsZila and 29. VIVWhen itAisidesired torotate' the handle to its alternative position,"the thumbpiece 26 is pressed in, releasing the catch l and permitting rotation ofthe handle '180 degrees,

Yuntilrthezcatch engages in the'opposite pocket -under theaction ofthespring.

Theiormnf handle shown in Fig. 5 is distingushed from @that shown rinFig.: 2V bythe,.- pro- Vision of a different form of latch and differentmeans for mounting it on a cooking utensil. The mounting bracket 30 isprovided with a cylindrical surface adapted to conform to the outersurface of a cylindrical utensil 3l. Such utensils are commonly providedwith a strap 32, spaced slightly from the wall of the pot, and formedwith a hole through which a bolt may be passed for mounting a handle. Arecess 33 is formed in the mounting bracket to accommodate the strap 32,and a hole 34 is formed therein for clearance over a bolt 35 whichpasses through a counterbored hole 36 in the handle 31, and is engagedin a nut 38 inserted behind the strap 32. The bolt thus serves to retainthe handle on the mounting bracket and the mounting bracket against thepot, and to provide an axis of rotation for the handle. The catch 39 ismounted for horizontal sliding movement in a cruciform slot 40, formedin the handle 31, ribs 4l of the catch being guided in the horizontallyextending portions of the slot. A compression spring 42 is retained inthe lower portion of the slot between its inner wall and a downwardlyextending portion 43 of the catch 33. By means of a thumb piece M, thecatch may be retracted against the force of spring i2 from its positionof lodgment in either of two Vertical slots 46, formed in the outersurface of the mounting bracket 3D. The slots d5 are directed upwardlyand downwardly respectively from the axis of rotation so that the handlemay be latched in either its upward or downward position.

The modified form of handle illustrated in Fig. 6 is designed forattachment to a pot in the same manner as the form of Fig. 5, by a bolt35 passing through clearance holes 53 and 5l in the handle 52 and in themounting bracket 53, respectively. A nut 38 retained against the innersurface of the strap 32 maintains the parts in juxtaposition. A simplerform of detent is ernployed in this modiiication. Spring urged detents54 of conventional type are pressed by springs 51 into holes 55 in theface of the handle parallel to the bore i! and on opposite sidesthereof. The detents engage in shallow rounded depressions 53 formed inthe outer face of the mounting bracket, the relative positions of thedetents 5A and the depressions 56 being such that the handle is retainedin either vertical position. If desired, a set screw such as is shown inFig. l may be incorporated in the devices of Figs. 5 and 6 to insureagainst rotation of the bolt with the handle.

The handles and mounting brackets, as well as the latches, may be formedfrom any suitable material, molded plastic material such as Bakelite ormethyl methacrylate being regarded as quite suitable. Obviously, thetype of mounting bracket illustrated in Fig. 2 may be used with eitheroi the detent means illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, and the latch in Fig.2 may be used with a bracket of the form illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6,or any suitable latching or detent device may be employed. While certainmounting means adaptable to particular forms of utensils have beenshown, it is apparent that the orm of the mounting bracket may Jemodified to suit utensils having other types of construction than thoseshown herein.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailedcharacter, in order that the invention in pot handles for cookingutensils may be completely set forth, it is to be understood that thespeciiic terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining, andthat Various rearrangements of parts and modifications of detail may beresorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the inventionas herein claimed.

I claim:

l. An adjustable handle assembly for use with a cooking vessel such as acoffee pot comprising a mounting bracket to be secured to such a Vessel,a handle associated with the bracket and rotatable relative thereto,said bracket and handle having engaged portions provided with openingsin register with each other, means comprising a screw extending throughthe registered openings ior holding said handle and bracket in assembledrelation, means for maintaining the screw stationary relative to thebracket, and latching means carried by the handle and engageable withthe bracket for maintaining the handle in predetermined positionrelative to the bracket and vessel.

2. An adjustable handle assembly for use with a cooking vessel such as acoffee pot comprising a mounting bracket to be secured to such a vessel,a handle associated with the bracket and rotatable relative thereto,said bracket and handle having engaged portions provided with openingsin register with each other, means comprising an elongated screwextending through the registered openings and engaging the handle andthe bracket for holding said handle and bracket in assembled relation,means comprising a set screw carried by the bracket for maintaining theelongated screw stationary relative to the bracket, and latching meanscarried by the handle and engageable with the bracket for maintainingthe handle in predetermined position relative to the bracket and vessel,said latching means including a catch having a thumb piece projectingfrom the handle for manipulation of the catch to disengage said catchand the bracket, and a spring in the handle bearing upon the catch andresiliently urging the catch radially outwardly relative to theelongated screw and into engagement with the bracket.

3. An adjustable handle assembly for use with a cooking vessel such as acoffee pot comprising a mounting bracket to be secured t0 such a vessel,a handle associated with the bracket and rotatable relative thereto,said bracket and handle having engaged portions provided with openingsin register with each other, means comprising an elongated screwextending through the registered openings and engaging the handle forholding said handle and bracket in assembled relation, means comprisinga nut screwed onto one end of the elongated screw for maintaining the Ysaid screw stationary relative to the bracket, and latching meanscarried by the handle and engageable with the bracket for maintainingthe handle in predetermined position relative to the bracket and vessel,said latching means including a catch having a portion projecting fromthe handle for manual adjustment of the catch to disengage said catchfrom the bracket, and a spring in the handle bearing upon the catch andresiliently urging said catch longitudinally of the screw and intoengagement with the bracket.

4. An adjustable handle assembly for use with a cooking vessel such as acoffee pot comprising a mounting bracket to be secured to such a vessel,a handle associated with the bracket and rotatable relative thereto,said bracket and handle having engaged portions provided with openingsin register with each other, means comprising an elongated screwextending through the registered openings and engaging the handle forholding said handle and bracket in assembled relation, means formaintaining the screw stationary relative to the bracket, and latchingmeans carried by the handle and engageable with the bracket formaintaining the handle in predetermined position relative to the bracketand vessel, said latching means including a pair of detents in thehandle and having portions extending from said engaged portion of thehandle and engaging the bracket, and springs Within the handle bearingon the detents and resilient-,ly urging them into engagement with thebracket.

MYRON J. ROSBY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

